Chicken Reshmi Kebab for Summer Grills

Chicken Reshmi Kebab are great for gatherings with friends and family over Summers Grills. I am visiting a few old friends here in Stamford, Connecticut.

Chicken Reshmi Kebab is not indigenous to CT but I hear that Stamford is the city that always works. So, this is a recipe shared by a couple who has worked hard to have their peaceful life together.

Chicken Reshmi Kebab- A Cheesy Dish from CT

This was a long overdue trip to the US which I had promised myself and a few close friends- particularly my besties from college days. Seems strange to say that now after almost 26 years of us having spent our lives apart and promising to reunite every now and then.

Some years were good, and we managed. But mostly there were long gaps- where perhaps each of us was carried through with whatever was creating a maelstrom in our lives then.

My friend here who is hosting me is actually someone who stood by me through a few difficult periods of my life. I am quite amazed at how some of these old friends pick up intuitively when there’s something really tumultuous in our lives.

Chicken Reshmi Kebab- a tried and tested recipe

This is perhaps the first time that I have the privilege to be a part of their household- her unit with her husband, her beloved pet (who is actually the boss baby :)), his nanny and others in their supporting inner and outer circles.

I call it a privilege because I feel truly blessed and pampered here. It’s an unexpected bit of indulgence. I feel like another child here being nurtured at this old age of my life. 🙂 It also opens up my mind to a different way of being, managing household chores and tasks.

For example, they have similar issues which I had and saw many other couples face- of different dietary preferences/requirements and meal timings.

Somewhere, there’s a good understanding of the priority being of the pet’s care and food.

Because that’s the “child” in the household that anchors them all in their nurturing roles as parents/guardians perhaps.

A Whiff of Nostalgia for Chicken Reshmi Kebab Lovers

Between the two of them, I see that my friend’s husband is perhaps more of the creative cook/chef here. Someone who perhaps likes to cook but not every day.

He narrates how the dish brings back memories from his childhood and young adult days of living in a hostel near Kolkata. Their stipend was used for sharing meals with other students.

Biryani with Kebabs was one of their indulgences in little joints popularized by hungry students going out from the hostels. Interestingly, he narrates that the men ran out of money faster than the women there. 🙂

What prompted him to try cooking Chicken Reshmi Kebab, I asked.

And he said simply, it was difficult to get really good soft Chicken Reshmi Kebab when he tried to buy or bring it home.

He tried it first a couple of times himself, two summers ago to keep the grill running. And voila, was a big hit later with other visiting friends they hosted!

Organising the Ingredients for the Grill

Their spice racks and other ingredients are meticulously organized. That helps easy access for those working in the beautiful kitchen.

Of course, as a newbie- you may be confused and blunder around a bit, but you get used to it pretty soon. Little kitchen hacks like this help to get you back on track.

Their kitchen island is the place for most of the family gatherings. Otherwise, they maybe in their offices or in the garage/dens. So definitely, that’s where the heart of the home is- at least that’s how I see it.

This kind of space is unusual for many families I know. I have lived most of my life in tiny apartments, so some of it is like admiring a life from almost a different kind of planet. 🙂 While I say this in jest, I understand that it is a lot of hard work.

Things built over time and built with love and care. It takes a lot to maintain it too and I see them sometimes struggling to manage the different chores between themselves.

Helping Hands with the Summer Grills

They have outside help of course- but that comes with a price too. Some of the helps are now extensions of their family unit. So, while there is a professional equation there, it’s also a lot of personal involvement which has been built over the years.

Being in one place for many years brings with it the stability and the understanding/knowledge that is perhaps the one thing that many elders often say, “Money can’t buy“.

Truth is this is just an outside in romanticized view.

If you look deeply, you see how every item, every part of their home was built and bought through hard earned money, meticulous planning with slow patient accumulation over the years. Some of it carefully curated you may say- the significance of it perhaps not immediately discernable to a casual visitor.

So, the respect for it and for the people associated with the place is also deeply rooted.

Is it easy/difficult to walk away from this, I wonder?

I have moved around so many times in life, that this way of being so rooted is almost alien to me. Every move has led to a sense of complete abandonment of old things and ways.

When I talked to them, I realised how they have moved as well over the years. So perhaps this is another tussle between the forces of just being vs moving ahead to the next passage of time.

Umpteenth learning through Juneteenth week

I shared the dream of being rooted (somewhere) with my husband earlier. And perhaps that was the one thing that was such a difficult question to answer for both of us. When I look back, I often wonder, was I so unfair in my question? Or was the timing of the question wrong.

Be as it may, that’s one question that was left hanging in the air.

What drew my friend and her husband to this home in this city is the story that I share. Along with the recipe of his favourite summer grill.

They lived in New York City for a while and the move to Stamford was quite gradual- first over the weekends as a space to get some breather. Eventually they moved with complete bag and baggage when the need for space was greater than the conveniences the city offered.

So, I go on my first day visit to NYC- more specifically Manhattan. It’s a midweek holiday and luckily, we are able to meet a few old friends from college as well. I am trying to understand what is Juneteenth.

Is it important to celebrate it? We have a quick lively discussion about whether kids should be reminded of it. Whether it is a bit of a political move to appease/ignite vote banks rather than a celebration of something of historical/cultural significance. It’s an exchange of opinions as I saw it.

Anyways, that discussion will last beyond the day. I don’t know enough about it to make very learned observations. Perhaps, people are happy to get a break, that’s the way I see it. 🙂

We move on to other topics as well over lunch walking through the paces of what transpired over the years in between.

More on NYC and Manhattan later.

Cheese with Chicken Reshmi Kebab?

I am curious about the cheese used in this recipe. Interestingly, their pet, a handsome German Shepherd here is very fond of Cheese cubes as snacks. He is quite a handful and a rather intelligent willful character. 🙂

The recipe prepwork is done a day ahead. We go shopping for the ingredients first- mainly the fresh boneless chicken thighs. We buy some veggies as well to throw into the grill alongside. Some potatoes, sweet potatoes, asparagus, summer squashes and assorted peppers makes it a colorful tasty array.

Their neighborhood supermarket had some good deals. So, looks like there may be quite a few barbeque parties and summer grills happening this weekend or the next one.

The quantity of chicken is a bit daunting- looks like it is enough for an army! Actually, they intend to share with neighbours as well. Some of them are quite helpful and they have supported each other in their own ways.

Slow and Easy Chicken Reshmi Kebabs

Then my friend’s husband who is the chef in charge, starts the marinade.

There’s a first marinade and then there’s a second marinade. He explains that the first marinade helps to break down the chicken first (tenderising the meat). And then the second marinade helps in the flavouring of the chicken.

This second marinade is the creamy one with fatty yoghurt, sourcream and cheese thrown into the mix. There’s a special herbed butter sauce which is prepared for the grilled veggies as well. Sinfully good! I should start fasting for this meal. 🙂

The marinating of the chicken for at least 12-18 hours (or overnight) is the key to the spices and the flavours seeping in that helps in the quick cooking over the grill.

The weather is great and looks like a perfect day for summer grills. But it does take a lot of time- almost 3 hours to get the food done. We do munch as we cook- but by the end, we have built up a massive appetite for a pretty late lunch (or early dinner)!

Here’s the full recipe of the Chicken Reshmi Kebab for those who want to give it a try. The quantities can be adjusted for smaller batch cooking. Winding down the first week of my first trip to the US with this delicious dish which was a special treat.

Hope some of you try it and share with others over the next few days when you have some friends or family over for a summer gathering.

Footnote

I chose to be born

Do I need to state the obvious

How many days of your life do you remember?

If like me, you have a faulty memory

Perhaps you are blessed with a chequered history

Swirling coffee mugs, butter stains and stomach pains

We waited for the sun to shine after the sudden rains

Every day I wake up and go through a normal day

What makes it different is your story rather than mine

But when you say each of us is no different in reality

I have a sudden urge to jump out of my seat

And try to test your knife skills at a heartbeat.

You impress with your candour or sensibility perhaps

I simply breathe because today I am sitting on this table

And tomorrow I may not have that- it maybe just a fable.

Can we laugh a little, cry a little and be unashamed

To show that we are perhaps after all not so invincible?

There was a story about a wily horse whisperer

Who said, I feel hungry enough to eat a horse

And then suddenly offered a sugar cube and a plum out of remorse

To help the horse neigh at the little dog who looked glum

It was a strange meeting of old souls

(I have been called a bitch before)

Straight piercing glance and then quickly running away

To bark at the neighbour’s fence left in complete disarray

Why choose the silence- who paid for the death of your voice?

Peace came at a very high price for more reasons than one.

Melting Lemon Drop 22.06.2025